


Diamonds for a Soul

by The_Writer_Of_Many_Things



Series: Widojest Week 2019 [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, day 2 of widojest week, i don't even know what this is, i enjoy resurrection rituals too much for my own good, i took the prompt kind of liberally, please enjoy, prompt: healing, the other m9 members are there too but they don't have much to do, this is kind of angsty, went off on my own direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 10:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19744054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Writer_Of_Many_Things/pseuds/The_Writer_Of_Many_Things
Summary: The Mighty Nein have fallen into Astrid's trap, and their foolishness will cost them.





	Diamonds for a Soul

Time had slowed down for Jester exactly three times since she had met the Mighty Nein.

The first was when they had stolen the Squall Eater and set sail from Nicodranas. Her heart had nearly stopped beating as she realized they might not ever be able to come back, that she might not be able to see her mama again. She managed to shake herself of the feeling quickly and put on the cheery face the rest of the Nein knew her to be, but those few moments felt excruciating.

The second time, Jester had nearly drowned as the temple Fjord and Avantika had sought out flooded. As panic set into her mind and her lungs began to burn, it felt like she was moving through gelatin instead of water. So this is what dying feels like, she remembered thinking. Time suddenly snapped into fast motion when Fjord had rescued her by… well, technically kissing her. But she had been saved nonetheless.

Which led her to now.

Part of her was glad Fjord had saved her, so she could give the group some hope.

But the rest of her thought dying in the temple might have been better than the agony she was in right now.

It had been so obviously a trap, looking back on it. There was no way the information the Bright Queen had been needing to get ahead in the war was that easily available.

And like the fools they were, the Mighty Nein had played into the hands of Trent Ikithon’s minions.

Ikithon hadn’t shown up himself of course. No, this wasn’t a big enough job for that. Instead he had let his trainees take care of the mess, certain they would be enough to take care of them.

Oh, at the leadership of Astrid, nonetheless.

The panic Jester had been feeling after seeing they had been ambushed only intensified when she heard Caleb whisper Astrid’s name under his breath.

“Caleb, no!” she had screamed as he began to walk towards the woman, but she was caught off guard as another spellcaster had sent a round of fire bolts her way. The scream was useless; Caleb had eyes for Astrid and Astrid alone.

“Nott!” Jester screamed as she used her shield to deflect the flames. “Nott, we have to get to Caleb!”

The goblin woman was managing to dodge between stalagmites and shoot her crossbow without taking too many hits. As she took out the knee of one of the younger looking mages, she lifted her wire-wrapped finger up to her mouth and whispered “Where is Caleb? What is he doing? Youcanreplytothismessage.”

“That woman at the back, it’s Astrid! Caleb recognized her. She’s going to kill him, Nott, we have to help him!” A swarm of unicorn hamsters converged on another of the young mages. Even as he fell Jester couldn’t help but feel bad for him. With everything she knew about what Ikithon had done to Caleb and Astrid, the poor boy was probably just as brainwashed.

“Shit!” Jester heard Nott’s voice in her head. “This is bad, this is really bad.”

Getting a second to breathe, Jester took stock of the cavern which they had been ambushed in. Fjord was engaged with two magicians, while Beau was busy dodging the attacks of three others. 

Yasha had managed to take out a few with the Magician’s Judge, but more piled on. Caduceus shook off a few attackers thanks to his beetles, but a flash of light from above indicated there were at least a few mages hidden in the crevices present towards the top of the cavern. They might not be outmatched, but they were certainly outnumbered, and that was bad news for the Might Nein.

“Nott, this is a really bad idea but I’m going to run for him. Can you cover me?” Jester’s voice trembled as she asked her friend for help. It was going to be a risk for her to make it to Caleb before he could get to Astrid, but she had to try it. She glanced back at Nott, who nodded her head despite the worried look she clearly had on her face.

As Jester began to charge forward, Nott let out a volley of arrows unlike any of the Nein had seen before and causing a chain reaction which appeared to turn the tide of the battle in their favor. One struck right through the throat of Beau’s opponent, giving her enough time to paralyze the second combatant and leaving her in a much better position to deal with the remaining mage. Beau turned around and ran at the wall, launching herself off with a flurry of kicks which knocked the remaining mage prone. In trying to get away from the barbarian, one of Yasha’s opponents tripped over their companion and accidentally threw herself into Fjord’s falchion as it was on the backswing. The sudden impact startled Fjord, who nearly missed being impaled himself by another of Nott’s arrows. That projectile found itself embedded in the forehead of one of Caduceus’s attackers instead. The cleric took the opportunity to revert the rest of the beetles on his remaining opponent. Just like that, the path to Caleb- and Astrid- was clear.

Caleb had already reached Astrid, whose face went from bored disgust to incredulity to smug pity in the space of seconds. Damn it Caleb, Jester thought. He’s already told her who she is, she knows, she’s going to kill him, or bring him back to Trent Ikithon.

Panicking, Jester focused on Astrid, raising her hands to cast a spell. She knew it wouldn’t work, there was no way she could manage to dominate the mind of someone as powerful as Astrid, but maybe if she could just take enough of her attention away from Caleb….

As soon as the Traveler’s powers began to emanate from Jester’s hand however, they were gone. She saw an arcane symbol flash out of existence above her head, and realized these mages knew the same magic Caleb had used to counter other spells in the past. Shit shit shit, this is really bad…

Jester tried to summon another bout of energy, aiming to deafen Astrid with Toll the Dead but as her hand began the somatic element of the spell she felt her entire body freeze. Even mid-run her body paused, pain coursing through her body. She could feel her cells screaming for air as she tried to force herself through it, but it was no use.

One by one she could hear the sound of weapons clattering to the ground, and for one happy second Jester was convinced her companions had triumphant. But as her frozen gaze remained transfixed on Astrid, she saw the smug expression on the mage’s face and her heart sank. Ikkithon and Astrid had played them and they, like fools, had fallen into their trap and lost.

“So, this is the Mighty Nein, then?” Jester was finding it hard to concentrate on Astrid with the holding spell keeping her in place. Every inch of her body was in agony, but she forced herself to pay attention to what the mage was saying. “I expected more of you.”

Astrid walked up to Caleb, who was still standing in front of her…. Or rather, he was levitating from what Jester could see. Astrid seemed to be holding her left hand out towards Caleb, but clenched in a fist. He had his own hands around his throat, grasping as if to pull an invisible hand away from him. Jester wasn’t entirely sure what Astrid had done to Caleb but she began to pour all of her mental energy into trying to break the hold on her body.

“This was certainly a surprise though.” Astrid moved up to Caleb and gently caressed his cheek with her free hand. “You’re all grown up Bren. Master would be so proud.”

Caleb’s breathing had turned heavy and he managed to let out a sort of grunt in response to Astrid’s taunting.

“It’s such a shame you’re wasting your talents on these pathetic ants. You could have had so much more, Bren. Eodwulf and I were patient. Even when Master wrote you off, the two of us thought you might return eventually, your sanity restored and we could take over together.” With every step, Astrid took a step around Caleb, circling him with a hunger in her eyes. “But he was right all along it turns out. Unless you’ve suddenly had a change of heart?” She had returned to her previous position, facing the rest of the Mighty Nein, inches from Caleb’s face.

“Astrid…” Caleb whispered through whatever hold she had placed around his throat.

Jester had seen people with a lust for power before but this-whatever was dancing across Astrid’s face right now was like a glimpse into the plane of madness. “Yes?” Astrid said, shifting even closer.

“Fuck…. Off….” Caleb managed to spit out.

Something glinted across Astrid’s eyes as her face shifted. “So be it then.” She brought her closed fist up and without flinching, twisted it violently to the side.

Jester felt the sickening crack that followed inside her heart. Time slowed down to a crawl as she watched the next few seconds unfold. She couldn’t move as Astrid unballed her fist, couldn’t run to Caleb as his body crumpled to the floor. All she could do was stand here, frozen, screaming in silence as she watched him die.

“Enjoy what time you have left, Mighty Nein. Master Ikkithon is looking forward to meeting you and I will be more than happy to introduce you.” With that, Astrid muttered an incantation and the mages vanished into thin air.

Oxygen flooded back into Jester’s body and her knees gave way as the holding spell was lifted. Desperately scrambling for breath, she began to crawl towards the broken body that lay feet in front of her.

“Caleb…” she screamed, tears pouring down her face. Hands began to lift her up and she turned to see Beau. The monk lifted the little tiefling into her arms and began to run towards Caleb’s body.

Jester forced herself to take a breath, calling on the Traveler for his strength as Beauregard set her down in front of the wizard. Her hands flitted around his throat, searching for a pulse. Nothing.

By this point the rest of the Mighty Nein had gathered around Caleb. “Caleb! Caleb!!” Nott was yelling in his ear. Fjord was kneeling to Jester’s right while Caduceus had crouched opposite the two of them. Beauregard had turned away, one hand resting on Yasha, who had her head bowed.

Panicking, Jester summoned a healing spell and laid her hands on Caleb, hoping that would be enough. As the warm light washed over the wizard, she prayed for any sign of movement. The magic faded, but once again nothing happened.

“It’s not working!” Jester shrieked, looking at her hands. She quickly clasped them over her mouth, trying to keep her sobs from bursting out. She could hear Beauregard starting to sniffle in the background and panic began to well in her chest.

“Jester, you’ve got to do something! Please Jester, I know you can do it, you did it with Caduceus, bring him back!” Nott was clutching Jester’s sleeves, her bright yellow eyes glancing frantically between Jester and Caleb’s lifeless body. But all Jester could do was shake her head.

“Jester,” Caduceus’s voice pierced through her panic. “If his spirit is willing, you can revive him.”

“I can’t Caduceus. We don’t have enough diamonds, I can’t bring him back.” She reached into her satchel and brought out the diamonds they had collected. The merchant had only been able to give them 250 gold worth; they were at least 50 short of what the Traveler required as sacrifice to bring a spirit back.

“Wait!!” Nott yelled, diving frantically into Caleb’s bag. After a moment of rummaging, she pulled out the diamond he used for his spells, the one that had come in handy so many times. “Use this!”

“Nott, I can’t use his diamond! He would be so mad at me when it’s gone…” Jester felt tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“Jester,” she felt Fjord’s hand rest on her shoulder. “If Caleb is mad at you for usin’ his diamond, then at least that means he’s here to be mad at you in the first place.”

“We’re running out of time,” Caduceus said. “We need to do this now. I’ll be glad to assist.” The firebolg stretched his hand out to Jester across Caleb’s body.

Shaking, Jester took his hand in her left. She used her remaining hand to arrange the diamonds across Caleb’s body, making sure to place his own diamond on top of his heart. As she went to grab Caduceus’s other hand, she saw that Nott had already taken it, with her other hand wrapped around Beau’s. Beau in turn held Yasha, who had joined hands with Fjord.

“You got this, Jessie,” Fjord said, taking Jester’s hand in his own and completing the circle around Caleb. “Bring him home.”

“Traveler…” Jester begin. Her voice was trembling, so she paused to steady herself. She felt Caduceus and Fjord squeeze her hands in reassurance. “Traveler, are you there? Please help us to bring Caleb back. We don’t want him to go yet…” As Jester spoke, she felt a warmth wash over her and two of the diamonds on Caleb began to glow.

“Caduceus, I don’t think that was enough!” she glanced at her fellow cleric with wide eyes.

“You’ve got to offer something else then,” Caduceus said, surprisingly calm. “Mr. Caleb needs a reason to come back.”

She nodded, trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. “Caleb? I don’t know if you can hear me… but if you can, please come back to us. We need you…. I need you… The truth is I try to be a really happy person and make people happy. But you’re my favourite person to make smile and if I don’t have you here then who am I going to annoy and make silly faces at? And who will let me pet their cat octopus bird thing when I’m feeling sad? Please Caleb, come home. I love you.”

As the words left Jester’s mouth the last diamond, the one located on his heart, began to softly glow-then all three diamonds immediately shattered into tiny diamonds fragments. Jester felt the magic leave the area…. But Caleb didn’t stir.

“Did it work?” Beau asked. Nott frantically threw her ear onto Caleb’s chest, searching for a heartbeat. The group held their breath waiting for Nott to pull herself up, but the goblin woman just shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry Jester….”

The wail that came out of Jester was unlike anything she had felt before. She couldn’t believe she had let her best friend down so phenomenally… or rather, perhaps, that the ritual had worked, and that Caleb had simply chosen not to come back. All those times she had spent making him laugh, trying to bring a bit of brightness to his day, and he had still not seen it worthwhile to return-that thought was too painful to entertain.

Jester sobbed into Caleb’s lifeless chest, refusing to let go. “Please Caleb, don’t leave us just yet.” Her hands clasped at the wizard’s coat, grasping so tight she began to lose feeling in her hands. “I’m sorry, Caleb, I’m so sorry.”

Jester suddenly found herself flung away from Caleb as an enormous breath rushed into his body. The entire group gasped, startled by the wizard’s late appearance. Jester couldn’t believe what she was seeing as she watched his eyes flutter frantically, the blood in his body beginning to circulate again.

“Ow,” Caleb muttered as he began to sit up before shifting into a state of panic. “Astrid…. Where did she go?”

“Shhhh, Mr. Caleb,” Caduceus knelt down and put a large furry hand on his shoulder. “She’s gone but now’s not the time for that, you need to rest.”

“We do not have time for that, she is going to alert everyone to our presence!” Caleb began to search through his component pouch. “We need to go after her and…. Where is my diamond?”

“About that…” Nott walked up to Caleb, being nearly at eye level with him now that he had sat up. “You died back there Caleb. Astrid killed you. And we had to… well…”

“I used it to bring you back,” Jester said softly. She refused to meet his eyes. Of course he was upset about using his diamond, she just hadn’t expected to deal with it so soon. “Please don’t be mad at me Caleb, we didn’t know what else to do.”

“Jester, I…” Here Caleb paused to groan as he shifted forward. Jester felt a hand gently lift her chin up, forcing her tear-filled eyes to meet his. “I could never be mad at you, Blueberry.”

With that she threw herself onto Caleb, wrapping herself around his torso. He gave a grunt of pain but wrapped his arms tightly around her in response. His scruff tickled the side of her face, but she barely noticed so wrapped up in him, his scent, the fact she could feel his heartbeat where it hadn’t been just seconds ago.

“Thank you for coming back, Caleb,” Jester whispered into his ear.

“I’ll always come home to you, Jester.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking through Day 2 of Widojest week! As always thanks to 3fling.tumblr.com for betaing and being so supportive.


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